The early detection and treatment of numerous diseases could keep many patients from reaching advanced stages of illness, the treatment of which is a significant part of the financial burden attributed to our nation's health care system. If the public had universal, unrestricted and easy access to medical information, many diseases could be prevented.
Health care costs currently represent 14% of the United States Gross National Product and are rising faster than any other component of the Consumer Price Index. Moreover, usually because of an inability to pay for medical services, many people are deprived of access to even the most basic medical care and information. Many people are delayed in obtaining, or are prevented from seeking, medical attention because of cost, time constraints, or inconvenience. It is obvious that the United States is facing health-related issues of enormous proportions and that present solutions are not robust.
The complexity and interrelationships of various diseases and the biochemical markers that may be associated with these diseases are sufficient to tax the capacity of most medical practitioners. To aid medical practitioners in disease diagnosis, computerized expert systems have been developed to correlate medical diagnostic data with various diseases to guide physicians in prescribing treatments for their patients.
A prior attempt at a health care solution for a limited set of conditions is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,562. A patient's blood pressure and heart rate are measured and the measurements are sent via telephone to a remote central computer for storage and analysis. Status reports are generated for submission to a physician or the patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,527 describes a similar system, wherein the receiving office automatically communicates with the physician under predetermined emergency circumstances.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,275 discloses a device for a patient having electronics to measure multiple parameters related to a patient's health. These parameters are electronically transmitted to a central surveillance and control office where a highly trained observer interacts with the patient. The observer conducts routine diagnostic sessions except when an emergency is noted. The observer determines if a non routine therapeutic response is required, and if so facilitates such a response. Highly trained people are needed by this system along with the special measurement apparatus that are embedded in a bed or chair.
Other attempts at a health care solution are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,411 which describes a portable self-contained apparatus for measuring, storing and transmitting detected physiological information to a remote location over a communication system. The information is evaluated by a physician or other health professional. As before, highly trained people are necessary to utilize such an apparatus.
Several other services to provide medical or pharmaceutical advice are now available via “1-900” telephone numbers, e.g., “Doctors by Phone.” These services are available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. A group of doctors, including some specialties, is available to answer questions about health care or medical conditions for people anywhere in the United States who call the “1-900” telephone of one of the services. A group of registered pharmacists answers questions about medications for the “1-900” pharmaceutical service.
The prior art medical diagnostic systems do not adequately provide a framework for analyzing the individual patient's clinical test results and to correlate such results with a disease biochemical marker pattern specific to that individual. Furthermore, such systems do not address therapeutic and/or contraindicated treatment strategies and the interrelation effect and pattern of metabolism of certain nutrients or drugs tailored to the individual's specific needs.
The general population is more knowledgeable today about nutrition and its importance in achieving a superior quality of life than ever before, and the trend is growing. The growing interest in the field of nutrition and health care has led to health care practitioners scrambling for knowledge that was not previously considered of critical importance, nor were many practitioners formally trained in. As a result, thousands of health conscience consumers are now desperately seeking practitioners who are knowledgeable about nutritional treatment programs and in-depth nutritional diagnostics. The knowledge of how to prevent illness, maintain health, and reverse the effects of chronic disease through dietary or nutritional intervention has become instrumental in wellness and longevity.
Nutritional supplements are a topic of great public interest. Some uses of nutritional supplements have become part of conventional medicine. For example, scientists have found that the vitamin “folic acid” prevents certain birth defects, and a regimen of vitamins and zinc can slow the progression of the eye disease age-related macular degeneration. On the other hand, some supplements are considered to be complementary and alternative medicine. The patient's interest in nutritional intervention is growing and classical medical practitioners today need a tool to bridge the gap and implement nutritional treatment options.
The advent of worldwide computer networks like the Internet has allowed many classical or alternative health care providers to reach a virtually global consumer base with relatively little cost or effort. Health care providers using the Internet are also able to provide somewhat expanded services; for example newsletters, distributions of product information or advertising, or connections to other Internet sites of potential interest to their customers. Unfortunately, the majority of health care providers through the Internet, lack the facility to appreciate consumer's individualized biochemical needs, based on each persons unique biological and chemical characteristics.
What is desirable, then, is a way for an expanded universe of consumers to reach an individualized nutritional diagnostic and treatment service provider that provides preventative, diagnostic, and treatment options to consumers based on documented research and the consumer's own biochemistry. For consumers, electronic communication makes it possible to acquire large amounts of information tailored to their specific physiological and chemical needs. The invention described herein addresses this and other needs by allowing consumers to keep pace with the available medical research on the implications of nutrition on functions and disorders.